title: A novel wearable laser device to regulate stride length in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Decreased stride length is a highly relevant characteristic of the gait in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In this paper, a novel wearable laser device for stride length regulation is presented. The device is mounted to one foot and can project a red laser light strip to the floor as a visual cue for the other foot. In the experiment twelve healthy volunteers walked a 20 m straight walkway wearing the system on both feet. As an objective result, the stride length regulation reached an accuracy of 96.1 ± 2.5 (94.0 ± 3.5) % for a pre-defined stride length λdef= 55 (65) cm. The subjective evaluation by the participants using a questionnaire revealed that the visual cue projected from the laser device was considered a stable signal that did not shake during walking. 6 of 12 participants felt that this device was not interfering with their gait, 3 of 12 judged this aspect neutrally, and 3 of 12 considered it somehow bothersome.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramesberger
authors.forename: Urban M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Fietzek
authors.forename: Lorenzo T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: D'Angelo
authors.forename: Tim C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Luth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013686:Telemetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D064232:Visual Analog Scale; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult